The Cthulhu Mythos
The Cthulhu Mythos 'is the name for a body of work set in motion by H. P. Lovecraft and contributed to by other authors. The term was first coined by August Derleth, a contemporary correspondent of Lovecraft. Lovecraft's stories (often called "weird fiction" or "Lovecraftian fiction") featured strange deities from beyond the stars that painted a very bleak view of humanity. The ability of humans to fight against the Great Old Ones or the Outer Gods was slim to none. But Lovecraft's story became more popular and other authors contributed to the loose shared universe (named after the short story "Call of Cthulhu" from the famous pulp magazine 'Weird Tales). Lovecraft's stories rarely shared the same creatures, but there were references to the same things (like the Necronomicon and Miskatonic University), so it could be inferred they took place in the same world. The Cthulhu Mythos is a big influence on the Fear Mythos, especially the later comic book series Fall of Cthulhu. It was the inspiration for the Great Game and for many other elements, including many interpretations of The Deep. Two specific blogs that take much from the Cthulhu Mythos are In The Shuffling Madness, which is both similar to the Cthulhu Mythos in terms of mood, atmosphere, and themes, and Mephi, which actually combines the Fear Mythos and the Cthulhu Mythos and uses elements of both. List of Lovecraft Mythos Entities Elder Gods The Elder Gods are not true gods, but alien beings from the outer reaches of reality whose very nature makes them practically omnipotent in comparison to us. They are, essentially, Sufficiently Advanced Aliens. Lovecraft himself only created the most famous of the Elder Gods, Cthulhu. The rest of them were added to the mythos later by various other authors. *'Cthulhu': One of the Old Ones, Cthulhu and his spawn are semi-aquatic creatures which are neither fully matter nor energy and ruled Earth in aeons past. They wait in the sunken city of Rl'yeh , neither dead nor alive, waiting for the stars to align so that they can return and rule over the world once more in an orgy of ecstasy, madness, and destruction. *'Ghatanothoa': The first-born spawn of Cthulhu, Ghatanothoa is a massive, amorphous mass which is so hideous that any who look upon it are instantly petrified but remain fully aware of their surroundings. It is currently imprisoned under Mount Yaddith-Gho in the sunken city of Mu. *'Yig': A serpent-god who can take many forms, Yig ruled over the American continents with an army of followers kept in line by his snake-minions. Outer Gods The Outer Gods are true gods, forces of the universe given shape. They are all omnipotent, or so very nearly so as to make no difference to us. Against them, no defense is possible. *'Azathoth': The blind mad idiot god that dwells at the center of creation, Azathoth is depicted in Lovecraft's works as omnipotent but mindless, the most powerful of the Outer Gods, the ruler of all creation and the source from which everything in the universe flows. *'Nyarlathotep': The "soul of the Outer Gods", Nyarlathotep is the only one among them that might be considered truly conscious and sapient. While the other Outer Gods have, for the most part, no interest in mortal beings (save when they are invoked or summoned by their cults), Nyarlathotep is aware of mortal life - and entirely malevolent towards it. As the soul of the Outer Gods, Nyarlathotep is the one who controls the rest. Whenever an Outer God takes an active hand in the lives of mortals, it is Nyarlathotep pulling the strings. *'Shub-Niggurath': The Black Goat of the Woods With a Thousand Young, Shub-Niggurath is the ultimate incarnation of growth, birth, and fertility, dedicated only to birthing its hideous young and spreading them across all of reality. *'Yog-Sothoth': Yog-Sothoth is existence itself, coterminous with our reality and yet locked outside it. It is described as the Lurker at the Threshold, The Way and The Key, and The Beyond One. Category:Mephi Category:Outer Fears